Flight deviation at Mumbai? DGCA submits report, awaits order from aviation ministry

Statement from airline denied their aircraft deviated from its path, and said the pilot went around the airport before landing owing to poor visibility

A day after a Singapore Airlines aircraft allegedly deviated from its approach path towards Juhu aerodrome, the reason for deviation remains unknown. A team of Mumbai Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted preliminary investigation and called it a serious incident. The team submitted its report to the civil aviation ministry. Sources said the DGCA may initiate a detailed inquiry if the ministry orders.

The alleged incident occurred on Monday at 10.35am following which the landing was delayed by nine minutes. (Representational photo/ Hindustan Times)

Sources from Delhi said a component of the instrument landing system, distance measuring equipment (DME), of runway 09 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) was not functional for which Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was issued by the air traffic control to all pilots. A NOTAM is filed with an authority to alert pilots of any hazards enroute or at a specific location. The authority in turn provides means of disseminating relevant NOTAMs to pilots.

“A NOTAM stating that DME for runway 09 is not available was issued to all pilots in order to alert them that VHF omnidirectional radio range is in use,” said a DGCA official. A VOR is a short radio navigation system for aircraft that enables it to locate their position from the runway that enables the pilot to stay on course.

“In no case the pilot would have landed at Juhu,” added another senior official from the regulator. “The aircraft did deviate from its approach path but the pilot performed go-around when he was at a height of 1,000 feet.” He further added, “A pilot should maintain certain height and not descend below 700 feet. If the aircraft would have gone closer than this then it could have been termed as critically low towards the Juhu aerodrome’s main runway.”